Archive for year: 2017

Mission driven or maintenance driven? This is an important question for all of us. In other words, do we keep doing what we have always done and in the way we have always done it? Or do we step out in faith allowing Jesus to stretch us as we embrace life as his disciple, his living witness in the world?

Let us return to the Diocesan Priority Plan as a reminder of our sacred mission described in this way. “We, the Diocese of Rapid City, through the power of the Holy Spirit, are called to attract and form intentional disciples who joyfully, boldly and lovingly proclaim and live the mission of Jesus Christ, leading to eternal life.”

This mission should drive everything we do — all pastoral ministry, all parish

ministry, and all sacramental ministry. The Fathers of the Second Vatican Council in Gaudium et Spes similarly outlined this same mission: “Inspired by no earthly

ambition, the Church seeks but a solitary goal: to carry forward the work of Christ under the lead of the befriending Spirit. And Christ entered this world to give

witness to the truth, to rescue and not to sit in judgment, to serve and not to be served.”

Our Diocesan Priority Plan points our way as we “carry forward the work of Christ under the lead of the befriending Spirit.” As we all know, essential resources are needed to allow the Diocese of Rapid City to be mission driven rather than maintenance driven. Some of these resources come from the Annual Diocesan Appeal.

In my pastoral letter for the Diocesan Priority Plan, Through Him, With Him and In Him, I shared these words. “Funding the mission of Jesus Christ means that we are a community of believers who seek to live our lives for the Gospel and for others. We therefore embrace this mutually shared vision for the sake of building Christ’s kingdom.”

The 2018 Annual Diocesan Appeal took place the weekend of November 18-19 with an in-pew solicitation, asking you to give generously. This year’s theme is “ … who else will give? . . .The people rejoiced … for they had given to the Lord wholeheartedly” (1 Chronicles 29:5,9).

This is an invitation for every Catholic family across the diocese to prayerfully consider what the Lord is asking of them. When we reflect upon what the Lord has done for us, we realize that he will never be outdone in generosity. And when we give to the Lord wholeheartedly, we imitate his generosity to us.

This year’s annual appeal goal of $1,491,000 represents approximately 37.6 percent of the total diocesan budget. The remainder comes from outside granting sources and other revenues. This is why your support is invaluable for us to carry forward the mission of Jesus Christ. We really do want to live as disciples of Jesus with hearts that are “mission driven.” This is the call of the Gospel!

Over the last many years, three of ten families share a gift in the annual appeal. Imagine what could happen if more Catholic families partnered with us in the mission of Jesus! Imagine if this number increased to 40, 50, 70, 80 percent participation! All families are invited to participate. Some families may feel they are not able to give, but I believe that most all families can find a way to participate in some way. All gifts, large or small, make a difference and touch the lives of the people we serve throughout the diocese.

Generous disciples are never afraid of running out or fearful of not having enough. They live in faith, gratitude and — trusting that God will always provide. Generous disciples realize that God feels responsible for us, even though we are sinners; that God will never be outdone in generosity; that God has invited each of us into his way of life, into his way of being, into his way of generosity.

When we live God’s way of life, we live in the very image of God himself, in whom we have been created. We look and act just like God.

In other words, we view and live life through the lens of abundance instead of scarcity, a lens of provider instead of provision, a lens of gracious giving instead of fearful giving.

We experience God as giving, the moment our hearts say “yes” to Gods desire for relationship with us, giving abundantly to us, endlessly pouring out in His gifts a love greater than our hearts can fathom.

Generosity puts our lives in the proper order. Living a generous life sets us free. We are no longer possessed by what we have and therefore, are free to give it away. This fills us, not with secular happiness, but with true Christian joy — “… who else will give? … The people rejoiced … for they had given to the Lord wholeheartedly.”

Over the years, I have discovered this truth — when we step out in faith and generosity, amazing things happen. “When we accept our lives as sheer gifts, the Spirit can use us as apt instruments for spreading the Gospel. Wherever the Spirit works, there is joy.” (“Pastoral Letter on Stewardship: A Disciples Response”)

The Annual Diocesan Appeal is an important way in which every Catholic family can serve one another sacrificially, thereby helping to build up the body of Christ in western South Dakota. Your sacrificial support is important to us, deeply valued and necessary for us to love as mission driven people. The Lord has given us all different gifts, but calls each of us to the same sacrifice. This is why the heart of stewardship is spiritual.

Please prayerfully seek the Lord’s guidance in this regard. Please be generous in pledging both your financial support and your prayers for the mission of our great diocese, so that together we may “rejoice, for we have given to the Lord wholeheartedly.”

May God bless you and your families!

Acts 2:42 Citywide Youth Nights

Who?  All youth grades 8-12

What?  A gathering for you in the spirit of Acts 2:42 for food, faith, and Fellowship

Where?  Cathedral of Our Lady of Perpetual Help, Rapid City

More Info?  Contact Craig Dyke, Director of Youth and Young Adult Ministry at cdyke@diorc.org or 650-716-5214

 

Catholic Social Services held their annual banquet on October 1 in Rapid City. The Founder’s Award, given in honor of the late Msgr. William O’Connell, went to Richard Thompson, former Superintendent for the Rapid City Catholic School System.

Thompson was instrumental in getting St. Thomas More High School started in 1991. Before the current building was completed in 1995, classes were held in the basement of National American University. He worked as a principal, superintendent and fundraiser for a new building.

Three people gave testimonials on behalf of Thompson. Barbara Honeycutt is the current Superintendent of the RCCSS. She previously served in the development department for the schools when Thompson was superintendent.

She roasted him on the conditions of the new Catholic high school: “In the fall of 1993, my family and I moved to Rapid City from Grand Island, Nebraska. It was important to us that there be a Catholic School System in the town we relocated to. I learned about St. Thomas More High School and we decided we had found our new home. When I inquired about the school I don’t remember being told at that the students ate lunch on the floor in the hallways, that every clock in the building had a different time on it, or that students had to crawl over their desks in Wayne Sullivan’s math class in order to be seated.”

His daughter, Kara Thompson, who teaches at William and Mary College in Williamsburg, Virginia, spoke second. She was attending with her sister Tammy and brother Brian. (Their brother Kevin passed away in 1986.) “I am a 1996 graduate of St. Thomas More. Msgr. O’Connell was a dear member of our family, of Kevin’s especially. The Founder’s Award contains special significance for all the Thompsons.”

She lauded her father’s sense of fairness and justice and his work toward seeing underprivileged students get a Catholic education.

Archbishop of Philadelphia Charles J. Chaput, OFM Cap, gave his congratulations to Thompson via video testimony. Thompson worked for Archbishop Chaput in the Diocese of Rapid City and the Archdiocese of Denver. “Dick Thompson is one of my heroes. He is a great man; he served the Diocese of Rapid City in extraordinary ways. Back in the early days of St. Thomas More (High School) I don’t think we could have survived without the encouragement and hard work he committed to education, to the church, to the Diocese of Rapid City, and to his family. I can’t think of anybody who deserves this honor more.”

Jim Kinyon, executive director of CSS, and Susan Raposa, president of the CSS board, presented the Founders Award.

When Thompson took the stage he thanked Honeycutt and her staff for keeping the school going.

He thanked his children for coming and his wife of 55 years, Judy, for keeping him going. “This award acknowledges that by the grace of God and the hard work of hundreds of people great things can be accomplished and continued,” he said. “It means so much because in reflecting on the life and spirit of O’C what better priestly model of Christ to the community of the faithful could we have than O’C? He’s a very special member of many families here I know, and certainly of ours,” said Thompson. He recalled all the support Msgr. O’Connell had given his family — especially when his son Kevin had gone through treatment for Ewing’s sarcoma of the spine.

John Garvey, president, Catholic University of America, Washington, D.C., a nationally recognized expert in constitutional law, religious liberty, and the 1st amendment, gave the keynote address.

Garvey said, “Most universities promote the idea that there are no good or bad choices. I am the judge of my own good; you are the judge of yours. If you mean to do good, that’s what matters most.”

That brings up two areas of concern — moral ambiguity and moral complexity. He gave examples of moral ambiguity themes promoted in pop culture. One is where physician assisted suicide is looked at as heroic and another where non-traditional family structures are held up as just as good as old-fashioned ones. In contrast, he used the Catechism and teachings of Pope Francis to illustrate Catholic moral tradition offers clear counter-cultural answers.

For moral complexity, he addressed a personal issue — the decision to attend a family wedding wherein a person had not gotten their previous marriage annulled. There was a lot of family discussion on whether attending would give young family members the impression they approved of the union. Garvey said he attended and was following Pope Francis’ position on staying close to a person in a messy real life situation. When the time was right, family members encouraged the groom to get an annulment and then be married in the church. Which is what happened.

Garvey said, “The Holy Father says to error on the side of charity. In Francis’s words, “Heal the wounds and warm the hearts of the faithful.’”

 

Our Diocesan Priority Plan was completed and implementation began over a year ago. As you recall, the process of creating a priority plan led to the development of a vision statement. Vision statements reveal the overall vision and mission of an organization. In the words of the late Nelson Mandela, “Vision without action is just a dream, action without vision just passes time, and vision with action can change the world.”

The vision of the Diocese of Rapid City reflects the vision and mission of Jesus in his public ministry: Reconcile — Make Disciples — Live the Mission. These are the foundation stones for moving the diocese forward into the future. Vision with action will tangibly make present the kingdom of God.

The vision statement of the Diocese of Rapid City became the building block for creating the three Diocesan Pastoral Priorities — Reconciliation, Forming Disciples, and Funding the Mission. These priorities serve to guide our diocesan efforts over the next few years. The Priority Plan as a whole describes the mission of the Diocese of Rapid City in many ways. But the mission goes beyond the wonderful ministry that takes place across the diocese. We also have to have sufficient resources, both in terms of facilities and finances, to fulfill our sacred mission. This is why Funding the Mission is one of our priorities.

To move this priority forward, I met with key members of the chancery staff and Rapid City Catholic School System leadership. We discussed the many needs of the chancery, the retreat center and the school. A facility master planning process was engaged over the course of several months, beginning in January and concluding this past June. The purpose of this process was to discern the needs of each entity necessary to continue to live the mission of Jesus Christ throughout the whole diocese.

To backtrack a little bit, much wonderful ministry has happened since we purchased and renovated the former St. Martin Monastery to create the wonderful retreat center and elementary school we currently enjoy. Through the generosity of people across the diocese, we had a very successful campaign in the We Walk by Faith Appeal, raising over 18.5 million dollars. This completed phase one of our diocesan plans. In that process we also helped fund the building of two Newman Centers in our diocese.

But in many ways, our needs have only increased. Our current Chancery staff is located in two places — on Cathedral Drive and at the Terra Sancta Annex. Our spaces in both locations are inadequate and overall ministry is best accomplished when we are all in one place. The retreat center has been a great gift for the diocese. Its use is far beyond what we could have imagined. But for large diocesan events, the retreat center has also become insufficient. The Rapid City Catholic School System has pressing needs as well. High school plays and the many things needed to make them successful are currently taking place in an old, dilapidated gym at St. Elizabeth Seton School. At St. Thomas More Middle School the students begin eating lunch at 10:30 in the morning because of shared space limitations at St. Thomas More High School.

These and other issues were the catalysts for the facility master planning process. This process resulted in the development of a Facility Master Plan for the Terra Sancta Campus looking out many years into the future. This plan includes a new pastoral center and a fine arts/multi-purpose events center at the Terra Sancta campus, as well as additional classrooms for St. Elizabeth Seton School. Rapid City Catholic School System leaders simultaneously engaged in a master planning process for the St. Thomas More campus. This master plan includes a new kitchen and lunch room for the middle school as well as future plans for additional classrooms and a new gymnasium. These are some needs among others identified on the facility master plans for both the Terra Sancta and St. Thomas More campuses. The basic footprint of both completed master plans are below my column.

As I wrote in Through Him, With Him and In Him – A Spiritual Guide to the Diocesan Priority Plan, “While we are doing many great things in the Diocese and providing many opportunities for people to grow in their faith and step out in mission, it is important that all of our efforts are coordinated toward a more comprehensive vision for the whole diocese.” This master planning process has helped to set a more comprehensive vision aligned with the mission statement of the diocese — We, the Diocese of Rapid City, through the power of the Holy Spirit, are called to attract and form intentional disciples who joyfully, boldly and lovingly proclaim and live the mission of Jesus Christ, leading to eternal life.

As we know, if we are to live the mission we must be able to fund the mission. Although this master planning process was important in looking to the future, buildings are not the complete story regarding our needs. There is a great need to fully fund our priests’ retirement. It is currently funded at around sixty percent. The Rapid City Catholic School System needs to grow its endowment to support tuition assistance and to make salaries and benefits more competitive so as to retain and attract quality educators. Finally, and no less important, as we seek to properly carry out ministry on the Native American reservations in our diocese, I would like to create an endowment to enable us to provide and expand the personnel and resources for those living on the reservations we serve. Our current outside monetary resources are decreasing each year. These are some of the basic needs as we look to the future that will help us carry out the mission of sharing the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

The needs included in Funding the Mission have been prioritized without having a clear indication of how much money could be raised in order to make these dreams come true. To that end, we sent out Requests for Proposals to twelve fundraising consultants. We received back four responses and interviewed three companies. We have selected Community Consulting Services (CCS) to assist in conducting a feasibility study to help determine what might be possible in terms of raising the money necessary to fund the various needs outlined above. This study will take place over the course of the next three months, with completion, hopefully, by year’s end.

The details of the feasibility study are being worked out at the current time and are not yet completed. A feasibility study will help determine which projects will move forward as well as when and how to proceed with a diocesan-wide campaign aimed at funding our mission.

In conclusion, I would like each of us to remember that first among the Core Values in our Diocesan Priority Plan, which we must embrace in all of our endeavors, is Prayer. In Jesus Christ, the Father has withheld nothing from us, but has given us everything. Nothing is lacking for those who place their faith and hope in him. But without Jesus, encountered through daily prayer, we can do nothing (cf. Jn 15:15). Without sustained prayer we can make no progress in carrying out Christ’s mission. Let us turn to the Holy Spirit daily, asking that he stir up the gifts in our own hearts and give us the courage and strength to step out in faith, hope, love and trust. He will “teach us everything” (Jn 14:26) and “guide us to all truth” (Jn 16:13).

As our Holy Father Pope Francis encourages us: “Keeping our missionary fervor alive calls for firm trust in the Holy Spirit, for it is he who “helps us in our weakness” (Rom 8:26). But this generous trust has to be nourished, and so we need to invoke the Spirit constantly. He can heal whatever causes us to flag in the missionary endeavor. It is true that this trust in the unseen can cause us to feel disoriented: it is like being plunged into the deep and not knowing what we will find. Yet there is no greater freedom than that of allowing oneself to be guided by the Holy Spirit, letting him enlighten, guide and direct us, leading us wherever he wills. The Holy Spirit knows well what is needed in every time and place. This is what it means to be mysteriously fruitful!” [Apostolic Exhortation Evangelii Gaudium (November 24, 2103), no. 275]